Canepa: Fisher sour on tourney in Vegas

San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher directs his team against Colorado State in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fort Collins, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
— AP

San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher directs his team against Colorado State in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fort Collins, Colo., Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
/ AP

“I don’t buy into the coaches not being consulted,” Thompson said. “Back in 2011 we had this conversation and the coaches asked the league to send out RFPs (request proposals) to other cities with big arenas (Anaheim, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, etc.) and we got six back, including Denver and Albuquerque.”

Thompson says the big problem is that it’s almost impossible to rent a major arena for a week, and he’s right about that. There was a time when the league asked the MGM in Vegas about using its Garden Arena for the tournament. It would have been close to a neutral court.

“The MGM told us they had no interest in holding the tournament, that they could make more money off a concert,” Thompson says. “If you use a shoehorn you might get 12-13,000 in the MGM. I’ll be frank. We need a bigger venue.”

The Pac-12 tournament will be held at the MGM, but the Pac-12 doesn’t need the money; the Mountain West does. It’s a fact. The Mountain West event in Vegas draws very well and makes dough.

“We were in Denver three years and grossed a little more than $1 million only one year,” Thompson says. “Over the past three years in Vegas, we’ve made well over $2 million. I get it. It’s in UNLV’s building, with banners hanging from the ceiling. But we need an 18,000-seat arena. We just can’t afford to play in a 12,000 seat building.”

I can see that. Thompson’s being honest. It still doesn’t make it fair, because it’s not.

But it’s what happens when a wannabe major can’t pay college basketball’s dermatologist to help shed its minor league skin.